


Light Activities

by OnTheFritz



Category: Cats (1998), Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot
Genre: Gen, Misto's wonderful abuse of magical powers, Munkustrap is wildy unaffected by it all until he isn't, Pouncival capitalizes on a great opportunity, Seriously these two should not be left alone together, cats chasing lasers and losing their minds, very silly stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25236937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnTheFritz/pseuds/OnTheFritz
Summary: The Magical Mr. Mistoffelees discovers that, essentially, he is a walking laser pointer. Pouncival is quick to make the most of such an important discovery. Who will be able to resist the call of the chase?
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	Light Activities

**Author's Note:**

> I noticed that during the stage show Misto tends to manipulate light (namely the spotlights and lights set up around the stage) so naturally I thought, 'hey, he could totally make a laser pointer' and this fic was born. That's it.
> 
> I cackled like a lunatic while writing this, so I hope you're ready for some silly stuff!

One day, one fateful day, Mistoffelees made a discovery. 

He had been practicing his magic, as usual, when he discovered that he could create spontaneous spots of light on the ground. It had happened purely by accident.

“Curious.” Misto muttered. 

Slowly he brought his paws closer together. The light shrank to fit in the narrow space. With a few flourishes of his paws Mistoffelees found that he could not only manipulate existing light and shrink and expand it at his will, he could also create light where there previously was none. 

Currently he was testing this interesting discovery by conjuring a small, round circle of light and lazily tracing it across the dirt in figure eights. The usefulness of such a feat wasn’t readily apparent beyond being able to create spotlights for cats during their performances at the Jellicle Ball or, Heaviside forbid, being a flashlight in case Macavity turned out the lights in the junkyard again, but at least it was a safe trick he could do that wouldn’t accidentally roast anyone. 

Pouncival still hadn’t quite forgiven him for almost blasting him with lightning at last year’s Jellicle Ball. Misto had insisted that he hadn’t known the tabby tom was there but Pounce wasn’t having it. Given enough time the kitten would probably forget it happened. Hopefully.

Misto narrowed down the beam of light so it was the size of a quarter. The smaller the beam the brighter it was, bright enough that even from his perch up at one of the highest points of the junkyard he could easily see it.

There was a rustle from below. Quickly he extinguished the light and ducked down, not ready to reveal his new trick yet.

Tumblebrutus and Pouncival wandered into sight, both unaware of the cat watching from up above. 

“No, you can’t just go for it and hope that it works out. That’s how you knocked yourself unconscious last week, remember?” Tumble stomped out into the clearing and waved his paws in the air in exasperation.

“No, Tumble, I don’t remember because as you said I was unconscious at the time!” Pounce yelled. “That’s why you have to teach me how to do it right!”

“Then you have to listen! Why is this so hard?” Tumble pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You’re just an awful teacher.” Pounce stuck out his tongue.

“That’s… that’s not how you ask me to help you.”

“Fine. How about this. I’ll show you what I got and you can tell me what I can do better. It’s basically me giving you permission to criticize me.”

“Fine. Just do it then. And if you end up knocking yourself out again I’m going to drag you to Jenny’s by the ankles and just leave you there.” Tumble flopped down on the ground, back to Mistoffelees, and waited.

“Fine!” Pounce ran to one side of the clearing. “But if I do it right you gotta… you gotta give me food.”

“How come I have to reward you for doing something that you wanted me to show you how to do?”

Pounce did not dignify that with an answer. Instead he took a running leap and did his best attempt at a series of back handsprings. The problem was immediately apparent as Pounce did not use his hands during the maneuver. Instead he leapt with enough gusto to flip entirely over his head, legs flailing, and landed squarely on his face.

Tumble waited a moment, tail flicking nervously. He was rewarded with a low groan from Pounce. The kitten in question rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky, surprisingly physically unharmed. His pride was an entirely different matter.

“So… want to know what you did wrong?” Tumble asked all too innocently.

“I suck at this. How are you so good?” Pounce complained.

“I practice all the time.” Tumble pointed out. “And besides, we’re all good at something.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You can jump and leap and pounce on stuff from heights that shouldn’t be possible, yet you just bounce back like it’s no problem.”

“You’re saying I’m supernaturally resilient.” Pounce sounded intrigued.

“I was gonna say unusually bouncy, but sure.” Tumble settled down onto his stomach with his legs splayed behind him, tracing a pattern in the dirt with a paw. “Here, let me draw where your paws are supposed to go.”

Pounce rolled over to sit up and watch. Mistoffelees saw an opportunity too good to ignore. Ducking down so he would not be seen, he conjured the quarter sized beam of light and focused it on the dirt below, just behind Tumble’s elbow.

As predicted Pounce immediately focused in on the light, eyes huge. His head bobbed back and forth to follow the path the light traced on the ground. Tumble, too busy with his drawing, did not notice his brother’s sudden laser like focus.

Misto did his best not to laugh as he directed the light further away from Pounce, waiting for the moment Pounce moved to strike. The kitten wiggled impatiently as his newfound prey darted back and forth just out of reach. 

Finally, in a fit of mischievousness, Misto started to trace the light over the stripes on Tumble’s exposed back. It was too much for Pounce to handle.

With alarming precision Pounce launched himself in the air and, true to his name, pounced on the light, landing squarely on Tumble’s exposed back.

“Argh! Pounce! Get off!” Tumble screamed as his brother frantically slapped and jumped on his back. 

Misto moved the light away, both kittens noticing it and going still. Then, as one, they both ran after the light, crashing headlong into each other and falling over themselves.

It was too much. Feeling slightly guilty, Misto vanished the light, placing his paws over his mouth to keep from laughing. Below him the two toms searched for their missing prey.

“What was that?” Pounce asked, darting back and forth, eyes roving over the dirt.

“I dunno.” Tumble rubbed the top of his head where it had connected with Pounce’s. “But I’m done with our lesson today. I don’t think I can survive much more.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Pounce dug a little in the dirt. “Where did it go?”

With a sigh Tumble wandered off, leaving his brother to continue the search. Pounce slowly paced a circle in the dirt, walking around with an unusually contemplative look on his face. Misto stayed put, intrigued by the sudden seriousness in Pounce’s demeanor. To Misto’s growing horror Pounce crouched down on the ground where the light had been, slowly angling his head upwards.

“Hey!” Pounce’s eyes snapped to where Misto was hiding. He had been caught.

“Hello, Pounce.” Misto said, standing up and waving guiltily.

Immediately Pounce scrambled up to join him, bouncing up and down excitedly. “Didja see that light?” 

“Yes.” Misto said slowly.

“Where did it come from?”

Misto simply stared at him. Pounce tilted his head to one side, then the other, gears clearly turning in his head. Then the pieces connected. Misto was tempted to conjure a burst of light over his head to simulate a light bulb going off but that seemed a little cruel.

“Oh. I didn’t know you could do small stuff like that. I thought you could only blow up stuff with lightning. You know, like you did to me at the ball last year.” Pounce gestured to himself.

“For the last time, I didn’t blow you up. And I didn’t mean to-”

“Shh! Look!” Pounce interrupted him, pointing at the newest cat to enter the area.

Alonzo, in his usual slinky way, arrived in the clearing looking very relaxed and ready for a peaceful afternoon. He was completely at ease with himself and, up until this point, clearly had been having a pleasant day.

“Do it.” Pounce whispered in Misto’s ear. “You have to.”

“There’s no way I’m going to try and get Alonzo to chase a beam of light. Besides, he’s way too dignified.” Misto whispered back. 

“If you don’t I will personally do… do something. Something big. And you’ll regret it.”

“You really need to work on your threats.” Misto said dryly.

“Please. There will never be another opportunity like-” Pounce quickly shut up as another cat wandered into sight.

“No.” Misto hissed, clapping a paw over Pounce’s mouth when he saw who the newest target was.

“I will do anything, anything you want, if you do it.” Pounce shoved Misto’s paw away, giving him pleading eyes. “Forget what I said about Alonzo. You have to get Munkustrap to chase the light.”

Below them Munkustrap gave Alonzo an affectionate nuzzle before leaping up onto his usual spot on the tire. Alonzo quickly joined him and they settled for a nice, peaceful afternoon together. Both were unaware of the trouble brewing up above.

Now Mistoffelees was in a quandary. Since the Jellicle Ball where he had saved Old Deuteronomy from Macavity’s clutches he had felt he had finally become an adult. At least, he felt mature enough to sit with the other adults and watch the antics of the kittens without feeling too out of place. Plato had told him that it felt like they had finally graduated from the kid’s table. Where Plato had gotten that turn of phrase was beyond Misto, since whenever the tribe ate meals together no tables were involved, but the point was still there.

Sure, sometimes he wished he could return to the days where he could spend his time being silly and excitable. Honestly, sometimes he still felt like a kitten. He certainly looked like it. And really, he still felt a kinship with the younger cats, since, well, he had just recently come of age and was still young himself.

And yes, hiding up in the junk with Pouncival whispering in his ear, telling him to try and antagonize the Jellicle Protector and his second in command with silly magic tricks, wasn’t exactly behavior fitting of a respectable adult.

But it was so tempting. And there really wasn’t a better opportunity than now.

Silently Misto nodded. Pounce bounced up and down with glee, crouching low to stay out of sight. The quarter sized circle of light manifested just at the base of the tire, drifting out into the junkyard at a slow crawl. Up on the tire Munkustrap had busied himself with grooming Alonzo’s back, the black and white cat stretching out and contentedly staring out over the junkyard with half lidded eyes.

Slowly the light drifted into Alonzo’s line of sight. His eyes snapped open.

To everyone’s amazement Alonzo rocketed off the tire, the force of his movement bowling poor Munk head over tail, and flew through the air in a terrifying pounce. Misto zigzagged the light back and forth, Alonzo managing to elegantly scramble after his prey with shockingly graceful coordination of his limbs.

Munk righted himself, looking completely blindsided, and could only stare in bewilderment as Alonzo chased the light around the junkyard. Misto and Pounce could see his mouth form a silent, unspoken question. 

To their disappointment Munkustrap did not take the bait, instead smoothing down his ruffled fur and watching the impromptu performance before him. Alonzo, for his part, provided plenty of entertainment, even managing a somersault or two as Misto’s light abruptly changed direction. 

“Ooo, make him run into Munk.” Pounce whispered gleefully, leaning over Misto’s shoulder for a better look.

It was almost akin to having a real devil on his shoulder whispering temptations in his ear, Misto reflected. But he had to oblige, especially since Munk was still sitting calmly on the tire, as if taunting the light to try and do something to make him act as crazy as Alonzo was behaving.

The light circled Alonzo a few times, causing him to spin around and violently slap the ground, then shot across the junkyard away from the tire. It was disturbing just how fast the black and white cat could pick up speed. Misto barely was able to keep the light ahead of him.

“Where are you going? The tire’s in the opposite-” Pounce was rudely shushed by Misto.

As soon as the light reached the furthest point of the junkyard away from the tire, Misto flipped the light around and zoomed it back towards the tire as fast as he could. Alonzo turned on a dime and zoomed with all the speed his long limbs would allow. Every ounce of determination and focus was on the light and not where he was going.

Munk realized what was happening a split second before he could defend himself.

“Wait, Lonz, n-” Too late. The light zipped up over the tire and Alonzo came with it.

It was a spectacular crash. Both toms flew up into the air, limbs flying every which way, accompanied by Munk’s very undignified yowl of surprise. They disappeared over the edge of the tire and out of sight.

Pounce and Misto held on to each other, desperately trying their best not to laugh out loud and reveal their hiding spot. 

“Everlasting Cat, that was so much better than I ever dreamed it would be.” Pounce gasped, hiding his face in Misto’s shoulder to muffle his laughter.

“Shh, shh, they’re coming back.” Misto warned him.

Munk was the first one to reemerge from the other side of the tire, face set in an unimpressed scowl. It was rare to see Munkustrap truly upset, but when he was it was a sight to behold. As it was now he was leaning more towards the disappointed end of the emotional spectrum. The true anger was usually reserved for Macavity. With unnerving patience Munk resumed his spot on the tire and waited.

It took a long time for Alonzo’s head to emerge from the other side of the tire. When it did he kept his eyes downcast and ears pinned back against his head. Slowly he slunk over to sit back beside Munkustrap, looking for all like a kitten waiting to be chastised.

“What was that all about?” Munk asked, voice dangerously calm.

“Uh.” Alonzo said in return, eyes darting to and fro. Never had Misto and Pounce seen him so lost for words.

“Hm. Is it safe to assume that you won’t be doing that again?” 

“Yes.” Alonzo promised.

“Misto, do it again.” There was Pounce’s voice in Misto’s ear once more.

“You are terrible.” Misto said, nevertheless conjuring the light and fixing it back in Alonzo’s line of sight.

Alonzo let out a strangled yelp and simultaneously tried to leap off the tire and stay put. This resulted in his front half darting forward while his rear stayed behind, and with another undignified whirl of limbs he fell off the tire. Munk sighed, watching the black and white cat give in to his basic instincts and run after the light like his life depended on it.

There was no doubting that Alonzo had impressive stamina, and if there was any doubt it was quickly vanquished after the first solid fifteen minutes of nonstop running. Munk had finished rolling his eyes after the first five minutes and simply sat and watched, muscles tense in case the light made a beeline for him again.

“Remind me to never try to outrun Lonz.” Pounce muttered. “He’s relentless.”

“Munk hasn’t even moved.” Misto complained. “His willpower is incredible.”

“Maybe he can’t see it?” Pounce wondered.

“No, he can. His eyes are moving but the rest of him is so infuriatingly still.” Misto’s arms were growing tired of directing the light. “I need to take a break.”

“Aw, that’s no fun. But fine.” Pounce slouched back in their hiding spot.

Misto made the light go in one last circle, Alonzo’s feet slapping a furious pattern in the dirt after it, and finally extinguish the light. He had managed to get Alonzo to run in such a way that his footsteps spelled out ‘Pollicle’ in the dirt. Of course, it was only visible from where Misto and Pounce were hiding, but it was still impressive.

Alonzo flopped face down on the ground, inadvertently dotting the ‘i’ in ‘Pollicle’. His sides were heaving. Munk took pity on him and jumped down from the tire, helping Alonzo to his feet and half dragging him off to their den to rest.

“Aw, there goes Munk. We’ll have to get him another time.” Pounce sighed as he leaned up against Misto.

“Another time? How long do you want this to go on?” Misto asked incredulously.

“Well, we have a lot more cats in the junkyard to try this out on.” 

“You’re not serious.”

“’Fraid so.” Pounce grinned. “’Sides, I don’t see you telling me no.”

“Since when has anyone told you no and have it actually work?”

“Fair point.” Pounce slumped down until he was laying across Misto’s legs so he could stare up at him. “So, who’s next?”

After a serious discussion it was decided that it would be more interesting to not target any specific cats in the junkyard, but rather letting fate determine who the next victim would be. Pouncival had been kind enough to go fetch a snack for himself and Misto so the magical cat could be fully energized for the latter half of the afternoon.

It soon became apparent that most of the cats in the junkyard were taking the afternoon off to be anywhere else. They needed bait.

“I know just the cat for the job.” Pounce announced, leaping down from their hiding spot and rolling across the ground without a second’s thought.

Misto barely had time to wonder who it was when Tumblebrutus was dragged into view, looking like he had been rudely woken from a nap. 

“What? What’s on fire?” Tumble grumbled, still barely awake.

“Nothing’s on fire. But I need you to do something interesting so the cats will come back.” Pounce insisted.

“Why does the ground say ‘Pollicle’?”

“That’s not important.” Pounce steered his brother over to the center of the clearing. “Now, do something cool.”

“Pounce, no, I’m-” Tumble’s ear was yanked down so Pounce could whisper into it. Immediately Tumble straightened, shooting Pounce a look of disappointment that rivaled Munkustrap’s.

“I can’t believe you, my own brother, would stoop so low.” Tumble said solemnly. “Fine. I was gonna practice my tumbling anyways.”

With that Tumble launched himself into an impressive series of flips and handsprings, twisting and turning effortlessly through the air. This garnered the attention of a few cats and kittens, and soon he had a small audience amassed.

Pounce took the opportunity to climb back up to his and Misto’s hiding spot without being seen.

“Lesse, we got a good crowd now.” Pounce cackled delightedly, rubbing his paws together.

Misto raised an eyebrow. “What did you say to Tumble to get him to agree to help us?”

“Oh, nothing serious. I just threatened to reveal to the whole tribe who he has a crush on.”

“Isn’t it Jemima?”

“Oh, you would think so, but you’d be surprised.” Pounce said knowingly. 

“Well now I have to know.”

“Can you keep a secret?”

“Of course.”

“I… I don’t actually know who he likes.” Pounce admitted. “But he doesn’t know that. And now I know that he likes someone so at least I got that to use in the future.”

“Did I mention how terrifyingly calculating you can be?” Misto said, slightly wary of the way Pouncival grinned at him.

“Eh, we’ve got better things to do than figure out who Tumble likes.” Pounce turned back to the cats below them. 

Misto followed his gaze. “That’s quite a crowd.”

“Yeah, who all do we got… Skimbleshanks, Plato, Etcetera, Jemima, Electra, Demeter, George, Cassandra, and, oh, the lovely Bomba, nice, and, of course, my dear brother.”

The possibilities were endless. Yet there was one clear path to take.

“Shall I try and get all of them at once?” Misto raised a paw.

“Absolutely.” Pounce nodded so vigorously he almost knocked himself off his perch.

“Right. Let’s begin.”

“I bet a mouse that Etcetera notices it first.” Pounce said quickly.

“Oh? My bet’s on Skimbleshanks. He’s been awfully twitchy as of late.” Misto waited for Tumble to start the next round of acrobatics before summoning the light again, this time making it appear behind the crowd. Slowly he wiggled the light back and forth, circling it around to the front of Tumble’s audience.

Turned out both Misto and Pounce lost the bet. Demeter was the first to take notice of the spot of light, the golden queen tearing her gaze from Tumble’s show to stare at the light in puzzlement. Her eyes widened.

“Macavity!” Demeter shrieked, running straight under Tumble as he flipped overhead.

Everyone sat up in alarm. Tumble landed in a crouch just in time for the light to zip up his back. For the second time that day he was flattened by an eager kitten. Luckily it was little Jemima who was the first to chase so she didn’t do too much damage to his back.

Tumble rolled out of the way as the rest of the cats (minus Demeter) caught sight of the light and chased after it, some for fun, some out of fear, some operating on pure instinct. It was quite a sight. Even Pounce fell quiet, eyes huge as the ground shook under the rampaging feet. 

“Wow.” Was all Pounce said, leaving Misto to try his best to direct the light in a way that no one got hurt during the chase. 

Directing Alonzo around was a cakewalk in comparison. During the Jellicle Ball everyone danced together as one, becoming a single unity of harmony and grace, but today it was a terrifying hurricane of flying arms, legs, paws and tails as everyone desperately tried to catch the elusive light.

“Oh, Misto, look out- oh. Too late.” Pounce said rather mournfully. 

Victoria had innocently wandered into view, drawn in by the cacophonous chorus of cats. Immediately she was swept up into the crowd. Horrified, Misto vanished the light.

The dust cloud from the stampede died down, revealing Victoria cowering against the ground with her paws covering her head. The white queen was now a light beige. Cautiously she raised her head.

“H-hello?” She squeaked.

Plato picked himself up from where he had been tossed aside by the stampede. “Victoria!”

“Plato!”

“Ah, she’s fine.” Pounce sounded relieved. “As you were, Mr. Mistoffelees.”

Right on cue Skimble sniffed at the air, only to cross his eyes as the light appeared directly on his nose. The chase resumed. Tumble and Demeter perched on the tire, eyes huge as they held each other for support.

Victoria and Plato tried to run to each other. Misto was too busy with herding the group of cats and kittens with the light to notice that he had stranded the star crossed lovers on opposite sides of the junkyard, inadvertently creating a divide that could not be traversed.

Yet Plato did his best to rescue his mate, stepping forward only to immediately be swept back up in the thunderous herd of cats. It was an impressive sight, seeing as he was one of the taller toms in the tribe, yet he was carried effortlessly away from his lover.

“Ah, Misto, you might wanna slow down a little-” Pounce said, noting how the magician was looking slightly manic as he led the cats around from his perch above them.

Too late. The Rum Tum Tugger appeared, stepping directly into the path of the light. Misto didn’t even try to direct the cats out of his way, resulting in him being run over by eight wild jellicles. Only Etcetera seemed to notice, skidding to a halt with a shriek and crouching next to his body.

“What in the name of the Everlasting Cat is going on?” Tugger demanded as he sat up.

Misto cackled quietly to himself as he brought the light to the center of Tugger’s forehead. Jemima and Electra skidded to a halt as they realized who they were running at but sadly it was too late. Tugger was flattened yet again by the five remaining cats.

“You’ve gone mad with power.” Pounce whispered.

Finally the cats seemed to realize that they had not once, but twice crashed into the most popular tom in the junkyard. As one they all came to a screeching halt.

“I’m so sorry Tugger!” Etcetera wailed. “It was the light! We had to chase it!”

“What light are you talking about? I don’t see anything.” Tugger dusted off his mane, trying to regain his dignity.

Misto chuckled darkly to himself. “Let’s see if the Rum Tum Tugger can resist the light of Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.”

The little spot of light appeared directly in front of Tugger’s feet. Everyone crouched low to stare at it. Anticipation flooded the air as they waited to see what Tugger would do.

To everyone’s great disappointment Tugger shrugged. “Eh, no thanks.”

The tom sauntered off the way he came.

“Darn curious cat, why isn’t he curious now?” Misto groaned, slumping backwards.

“There’s no doing anything about it, Misto.” Pounce patted his shoulder sympathetically. “But eight cats at once is impressive.”

Below them the crowd dissipated, leaving Tumble alone in the clearing once more. Noting the obvious lack of his brother, he narrowed his eyes and looked all around in every direction, narrowly missing where Misto and Pounce were hiding.

“Pounce, I know you’re behind this!” Tumble shouted, shaking his fist. “When I find you I’ll-”

“Tumble, what are you yelling about?” Munkustrap asked, appearing from behind the tire again. There was no telling just how long he had been sitting out of sight or how much he had seen.

“Pounce is up to something. I just know it.”

“Isn’t… isn’t he usually?” Munk asked.

“Well, yeah, but this time I know he’s really up to something.” Tumble said. 

Munk took a good look around, noting the hundreds of frantic footprints on the ground. After a moment of contemplation he nodded.

“I’ll look into it. Why don’t you go try to get some rest? Seems that everyone else is a little frantic today.” Munk said in the understatement of the year.

Tumble sighed and nodded. “Sure. Thanks, Munk.”

“Anytime.” Munk gave the kitten an affectionate nuzzle before moving to stand in the center of the now empty junkyard.

Misto and Pounce waited for the inevitable.

“Alright, I know you’re up there.” Munkustrap called, staring directly up at Misto and Pounce.

“Busted.” Pounce muttered as he jumped down.

Misto followed, trying to look appropriately guilty.

“Now, what do you have to say for yourselves?” Munk asked, standing over the two with an eyebrow raised.

“I’m sorry. It was very immature.” Misto apologized.

“But it was really funny.” Pounce added. “Er, I mean, I’m sorry too.”

“I hope you two understand that while it was admittedly humorous, it’s not nice to torment the other cats.”

“I understand.” Misto said, staring down at the ground. “I didn’t mean to cause anyone harm.”

“It was just some fun. I told Misto to do it.” Pounce said. “If anyone got hurt it was my fault.”

Both Misto and Munk stared at him. It was the first time Pouncival had willingly admitted to being behind any sort of shenanigans. Munkustrap paused, looking like he was unsure of how to handle an honest Pounce.

“Well… I suppose that will do for an apology.” Munk said slowly. “And I have to admit, Mistoffelees, that is some impressive magic.”

“Thank you.” Misto said quietly.

“Would you be up for another demonstration? I’m afraid I didn’t quite get an accurate look the first time around since I was busy being run over by Alonzo.”

Pounce and Misto stared at the silver tabby. He was smiling.

“You’re not serious.” Pounce breathed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m always serious.” Munk winked. “This is purely for educational purposes.”

Misto excitedly teleported himself back up to his and Pounce’s perch. Below him Pounce and Munk waited, the former vibrating with excitement, the latter waiting patiently. Misto conjured the light again and the chase was on.

Watching Munk run around with Pouncival after a circle of light was a sight that Misto soon wouldn’t forget. Munk was a mighty hunter but even he was having a bit of trouble keeping up with Misto’s zig zagging, random movements. At one point Pounce decided to climb up on Munkustrap’s back and ride him for a short while, using the silver tabby as a launch pad when the light passed by. 

In retaliation Munk reached up and snatched Pounce right out of the air, tucking into a somersault and sending the squawking kitten gently tumbling across the ground. Pounce playfully batted at Munk’s legs as he ran after the light again. Together they teamed up to pursue the light, their vastly differing heights making for a comical sight.

Misto did everything he could to keep the light out of their grasp. Eventually Munk and Pounce ended up in a tangled heap, laughing helplessly as the light circled around them.

“Alright, I give. You win.” Munk said eventually, laying flat on the ground, panting heavily. “That’s quite a workout.”

Pounce sprawled over the Jellicle Protector’s legs, completely worn out. He was silent for once.

Mistoffelees joined them on the ground again. Munk sat up slowly so he did not disturb Pouncival. Much to their amazement Pounce had fallen asleep.

“If this is what it takes to get him to sleep then I will gladly do this again.” Munk said incredulously.

Misto laughed. “It’s been quite a day.”

“It’s nice to see that even the little things can brighten someone’s day. Figuratively and literally.” 

“Thanks for… for playing with us.” Misto said, tracing the stripes on Pounce’s fur with a tiny beam of light. “I know it’s not very becoming of a grown cat, but….”

“Mistoffelees.” Munk said softly. “You are never too old to have fun. I hope you don’t think that just because you’re considered an adult now that you can’t spend some time running around like a kitten again.”

“I don’t really know what to think.”

“Well, I think that chasing after a magical beam of light once in a while is a lot of fun, not to mention good exercise.” Munk said. “So long as you don’t have Alonzo run me over again. He may look graceful but it felt like I was run over by one of Skimble’s trains.”

“Sorry. Got carried away.” Misto said guiltily.

“Apology accepted.” Munk carefully gathered Pounce in his arms to carry him to bed. “Oh, and Misto?”

“Yes, Munk?”

“I’ll let Tugger know that under no uncertain terms that he should absolutely not chase any stray circles of light around. That should be enough to make him chase it next time.” Munk winked again at Misto’s stare before heading off towards Tumble and Pounce’s den.

Now that he was alone Misto felt truly at peace. He allowed himself to fall flat on his back, gazing up at the stars that had started to appear in the darkening sky. Perhaps he hadn’t quite left his kitten days behind but that wasn’t a bad thing. He conjured a ball of light, idly tracing paths among the stars. 

Tomorrow Mistoffelees would get Tugger to chase the light. He was sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you had fun, let me know what you think!


End file.
